


As the War Ends

by tigereyes45



Series: Kalluzeb Week 2020 [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Babysitting, Canon Compliant, Day 2, End of the war, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Fluff, Kalluzeb Appreciation Week 2020, M/M, Missing Scene, Team as Family, another late event prompt story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:20:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24603022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigereyes45/pseuds/tigereyes45
Summary: Kallus stayed on Lothal, watching the final ceremony to celebrate the end of the war. The room erupts in cheers and quietly he hopes Jacen won't wake up. It must be twice as loud where Hera and Zeb were now.
Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios
Series: Kalluzeb Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1778509
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50





	As the War Ends

Kallus stands at attention as Mon Mothma talks. Her usually short stature made much larger by the war room’s projection holograph system. Zeb was with Hera watching her live. Leaving him alone with the rebels of Lothal. Many had accepted him but there were still a few who clearly felt uneasy around him still. Foolishly Kallus had thought the air of constant tension would disappear after the liberation of Lothal.

Mon Mothma cheers with the invisible crowd as the heroes who stopped the emperor and his right-hand man, Darth Vader are gifted medals. Suddenly, collectively, as if they had all been holding their breaths, the room erupts in a joyous encore. All the rebels of Lothal who had just watched silently join in on the celebration. All their years of work paying off, not only for their planet but for the galaxy. The holograph goes out before they could see a medal be placed on the wookie. By that point, Kallus was the only person still watching anyways. The room had turned into a whirlpool of bodies. Hands pat his back, as bodies shove past each other for the doors. Holding onto the table in front of him was all Kallus could do to not be swept away in the commotion.

With the room cleared after a few minutes of utter chaos, he could finally breathe. The temperature in the almost empty room plummets as it's many heat sources flee to find other ways and places to celebrate. They deserved it. Kallus pulls out a chair for himself. The Empire was defeated. The force he had spent so much of his life serving was gone. It would be difficult for the foot soldiers to recover from it's lost. The many people who had never really known a life before the empire would be lost for a time. Just as he had been when he left. Many of them would be arrested and charge as they should be. Only a few would get off easy. Even the ones that did wouldn't be as lucky as him. If he hadn't ended up on that moon with Zeb his life would be very different. The ringing of his comm terminal brings his wandering mind to a halt. Looking down at his wrist, a small holograph of Zeb's face hovers right above it. The lasat had a talent for reaching out at just the right moment. On the moon, catching many of his secret messages as fulcrum, his defection, and far more when they were on Yavin 4. At one point Kallus entertained the idea that Zeb was force-sensitive once. A connection that allowed him to just know when he needed to hear his voice. Of course, he wasn't. If he had been Kanan would have been able to sense it. Which meant that it was luck, and perhaps a basis of understanding that results in his fortunate timing.

Kallus pushes past his hesitation and answers. When his figure appears Garazeb was looking at something behind him. Cheers and fireworks sound off from his side. They were muted comparatively to the shouts coming from down the hall. Undoubtedly they were louder around him. He hadn't even noticed that Kallus had answered yet. A brown furry hand clasps Zeb's shoulder. It shakes him gently. Casually it gestures towards Kallus before disappearing back out of view. Zeb's ears stand high as he looks surprisingly at him. He smiles back at the shocked man. He looks as if it had been Kallus who called him.

"Kallus!" Even the fur on his ears was standing up.

"Hello, Zeb. How is the celebration?"

"It's goin' fine." Rubbing the back of his neck, Zeb looks down towards the ground. The static-y blue holograph fitz out for a moment. "How is the kid doing?"

Kallus smiles warmly. It wasn't often that Zeb was nervous. "He's fine. Fell asleep about an hour ago. I have my communicator tuned into his room so that I'll hear him the moment he wakes up." He makes a big show of looking around the room. "Actually the partying just started over here. The noise could wake him up any moment. I should probably go."

"Wait!" Adorably Zeb reaches out as if he could stop him with his hand. Kallus tries not to laugh as he quickly retracts his arm. Zeb folds them back over his chest. He puts on a determined expression. Kallus leans back in his chair. The smug smile never leaving his face as he leans back. Zeb keeps his glare on something in the distance that he can't see.

"With the war ending and all I figured," He cuts himself off with a sigh. "Hera and Lothal won't need us around as much once the dust settles." Kallus nods in agreement. The next couple of months would be chaotic. Afterwards the two of them would be hard pressed to find work to keep them busy. There wouldn't be much need for an ex-imperial officer, and a lasat guard on Lothal. If Hera and Sabine left then Zeb would probably go with them. Would he? There was still the search for Ezra, but it wasn't his place to invite himself. He could wait. Waiting not hard, it's just the not knowing that's difficult.

"There's a place I want to take you." The words are blurted out in a rush. Kallus would have assumed Zeb was drunk with the way he was running his words together. But he wasn't. Not only had he been speaking perfectly clear before, but Zeb had a bad habit of leaning back whenever he was drunk. A habit he picked up from trying to keep himself from falling over when drunk. All it managed was to assure he would just fall backwards instead, but Zeb was folding inwards. His hand was scratching the back of his neck, and his eyes had avoided him up until now. This wasn't a drunk Garazeb. This was a nervous one.

The lists of possible jobs he was complying in his head stops. A familiar heat rises in his face. He had resigned himself to waiting. Kanan had been kind once to take him in, but truly he didn't expect it twice. Even though he and Zeb had grown quite close.

"Where?" His voice was quiet. Far too quiet to really be heard over the cheers. Somehow Zeb manages despite that.

"It's a surprise. Someplace important." Zeb stops talking and leans a little closer to his comm device. Did he really expect a no? Well if their roles were reversed Kallus would ask expecting a no as well. When his answer doesn't come immediately Zeb adds, "Important to both of us." He starts waving his hands around. "But you can't ask where it is or look at the maps until after we get there. It has to be a surprise."

Kallus sighs deeply, pretending to be annoyed rather than moved. "Zeb if this is a plan to go back to that moon I'd rather not."

"It's not." He doesn't try making a joke. There's no quipping line in solidarity over their disdain for that place. In fact he was leaning even closer now. His face was stern and nervous. The two emotions constantly fighting in the way his cheeks were, or how his lips curled.

Kallus sits up straight. Slowly he brings the holograph closer to his face. "I'll pack my things."

"Really?" Zeb sounds incredulous. "You would just come?"

"Well if you lot were going to kill me you would have done it by now. Should we tell Hera that she'll need to find another set of babysitters?"

Zeb's face slowly shifts from the surprised expression he had been so fond of tonight to a genuine smile. His body slowly starts to shake as he nods. "Yeah, yeah. Yeah! I'll tell her. She knew I was asking you anyways! Sabine could still help out, and we can come back. I'll have to tell her too." His excitement was contagious. Kallus channels his nerves into his legs. They quickly start to bounce erratically as he watches Zeb loudly cheer on the other side. A group joins in his cheering from his side. "I didn't expect you to just say yes!"

"Then don't make me regret this." He was joking but Zeb just kept nodding. He balls his fists up and smirks.

"You won't. See you soon. I'm gonna go get Hera now. We'll be right back!" With that, the holograph cuts off.

"Didn't even give me a chance to reply."

Kallus leans back in his chair. Resting his feet up on the table his muscles start to relax. Tonight was a very good night indeed. He still wasn't going to go out and celebrate with the rest of the base. He had to get back to Jacen after all. Now there was packing to do too. His mind wanders as he leaves the control room. The halls were filled with small groupings of people here and there. All enjoying the hard-won victory. What place could possibly be important to both of them? There was the moon. Most of the ships they had been on together have been blown to bits. Not that he would have to pack if they were just visiting a ship. No, it had to be a planet, but which? He dwells on the question for the rest of the way. His mind only returning to the moment as he opens his bedroom door to find a young Jacen sitting quietly on his bed. With a smile the child had been patiently waiting for his return. How he managed to not set off the motion detectors or noise monitors Kallus chucks up to the fact that he was probably at least partially force-sensitive like his father.

"Are you hungry Jacen?" The child eagerly nods.

Kallus steps off to the side and holds his arms out. "Let's go get some food then." Instead of running out the room past him, Jacen stops at his legs and holds his arms up. Kallus smiles and picks him up. "I have it on good authority that your momma's coming back tonight." He cheers throwing his arms up. Kallus readjusts him on his hip. He had already had dinner, but a snack as they wait should be fine.


End file.
